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Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography, edited by James Grant Wilson, John Fiske and Stanley L. Klos. Six volumes, New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1887-1889 and 1999. Virtualology.com warns that these 19th Century biographies contain errors and bias. We rely on volunteers to edit the historic biographies on a continual basis. If you would like to edit this biography please submit a rewritten biography in text form . If acceptable, the new biography will be published above the 19th Century Appleton's Cyclopedia Biography citing the volunteer editor




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Thomas Jonathan Jackson

JACKSON, Thomas Jonathan, soldier, born in Clarksburg, West Va., 21 January, 1824; died at Chancellorsville, Virginia, 10 May, 1863. His great-grandfather emigrated from London in 1748 to Maryland. Here he married Elizabeth Cummins, and shortly afterward removed to West Virginia, where he founded a large family. At seven years of age Thomas Jonathan, whose father had been a lawyer, became an orphan, and he was brought up by a bachelor uncle, Cummins Jackson. Young Jackson's constitution was weak, but the rough life of a West Virginia farm strengthened it, and he became a constable for the county He was appointed a cadet at the United States military academy at the age of eighteen. His preparation was poor, and he never reached a high grade. On his graduation in 1846 he was ordered to Mexico, became a lieutenant in Magruder's battery, and took part in General Scott's campaign from Vera Cruz to the city of Mexico. He was twice brevetted for good conduct at Churubusco and Chapultepee. After the Mexican war he was for a time on duty at Fort Hamilton, New York harbor, and subsequently was sent to Fort Meade, Florida. He resigned from the army in 1851, on his election as professor of philosophy and artillery tactics in Virginia military institute. He was noted for the faithfulness with which he performed his duties and his earnestness in matters of religion (he was a member and officer of the Presbyterian church); but his success as a teacher was not great. He took much interest in the improvement of the slaves and conducted a Sunday school for their benefit, which continued in operation a generation after his death. A few days after the secession of Virginia he took command of the troops that were collecting at Harper's Ferry, and, when Virginia joined the Confederacy a few weeks later, he was relieved by General Joseph E. Johnston, and then became commander of a brigade in Johnston's army, which rank he held at the battle of Bull Run. In that action the left of the Confederate line had been turned and the troops holding it driven back for some distance. Disaster to the Confederates was imminent, and Johnston was hurrying up troops to support his left. Jackson's brigade was the first to get into position, and checked the progress of the National forces. The broken troops rallied upon his line, other re-enforcements reached the left, the Confederates took the aggressive, and in a short time gained a victory. In the crisis of the fight, General Bernard E. Bee, in rallying his men, said: "See, there is Jackson standing like a stone wall; rally on the Virginians!" Bee fell a few moments after, but his exclamation gave Jackson a new name. For his conduct at Bull Run, Jackson was made major-general, and in November, 1861, was assigned to the command of the district that included the Shenandoah valley and the portion of Virginia northwest of it. In the course of the winter he drove the National troops from his district, but the weather compelled him to return to winter quarters at Winchester. Early in March he was at Winchester with 5,000 men, while General Nathaniel P. Banks was advancing against him from the Potomac. Jackson's instructions were to detain as large a hostile force as possible in the valley, without risking the destruction of his own troops. He fell back forty miles before Banks; but as soon as the latter returned to Winchester and began to send his troops away, Jackson with 3,500 men made a forced march toward Winchester, and on 23 March attacked the troops still left in the valley with great vigor. In this battle (at Kernstown) he was defeated; but so fierce and unexpected was the attack that Banks, with all the troops within reach, returned to the valley. Jackson retreated up the Shenandoah and took position at Swift Run Gap in the Blue Ridge mountains At the end of April, 1862, he entered upon a new campaign in the valley. While McClellan's great army was pushing up the peninsula toward Richmond, General Irvin McDowell with 30,000 men lay on the Rappahannock and threatened Richmond from the north. Banks with 20,000 men occupied Harrisonburg and was watching Jackson, while Fremont was gathering a column of 15,000 men on the upper Potomac and moving toward Staunton. Jackson was given control of all the Confederate troops in northern Virginia, with instructions to do the best he could to hamper the operations of the National armies in that region. His troops consisted of his own division of 8,000 men, General Richard S. Ewell's division of about the same number, and General Edward Johnson's brigade of 3,000 men, which was in Fremont's front. Jackson, having united his own division with Johnson's brigade by a circuitous march, struck the head of Fremont's column at the village of McDowell on 8 May, and damaged it so as to paralyze it for some weeks. He then returned rapidly to the Shenandoah valley and concentrated all his forces against Banks, who, having sent half his troops to General McDowell on the Rappahannock, had taken position at Strasburg and Front Royal. Jackson surprised him, overwhelmed the detachment at Front Royal on 23 May, and on the 25th defeated Banks at Winchester and drove him beyond the Potomac, making large captures of prisoners and stores. The National government took possession of the railroads, and recalled McDowell from Fredericksburg and Fremont from West Virginia to fall upon Jackson's rear, while Banks and Sigel were to move from the Potomac. On the night of 30 May, Jackson at Winchester seemed about to be surrounded; but, making a rapid march next morning, he placed himself at Strasburg directly between his principal antagonists, McDowell and Fremont, and kept one of them at bay by a show of force, and bewildered the other by the rapidity of his movements, until his prisoners and captured stores had been sent to the rear. He then retreated up the valley, pursued by Shields's division of McDowell's forces and by Fremont, whom he kept apart by burning the bridges over the Shenandoah. He turned at bay at Port Republic on 8 June, repelled Fremont at Cross Keys, and, crossing the Shenandoah during the night and the early morning, threw himself unexpectedly upon the head of McDowell's column near Port Republic, which he routed and drove from the battle-field before Shields with the main body of his division could get up or Fremont could render assistance from the other side of the river. The National forces retreated to the lower Shenandoah. Jackson now hastened by forced marches to Richmond to unite with General Lee in attacking McClellan. Here, on 27 June, Jackson turned the scale in the battle of Gaines's Mills, where Fitz-John Porter was overthrown. He also took part in the subsequent operations during McClellan's retreat. About the middle of July, Lee detached Jackson to Gordonsville to look after his old adversaries of the Shenandoah valley, who were again gathering under General John Pope. On 9 August, Jackson, having crossed the Rapidan, defeated Banks at Cedar Run. A week later Lee arrived with Longstreet's corps, and the campaign against Pope began in earnest. On 25 August, Jackson was sent from the Rappahannock with 25,000 men to pass around Pope's right flank, seize his depot at Manassas, and break up his communications; and this movement was successful, and Pope was forced to let go the Rappahannock. Jackson kept his opponent at bay by stubborn fighting, and kept him on the ground until Lee with the rest of the Confederate army arrived, when Pope was defeated in the battle of 30 August, 1862, known as the second battle of Manassas, Oroveton, or Bull Run In the Maryland campaign two weeks later General Jackson had charge of the operations that resulted in the investment and capture of the post at Hat-pews Ferry, 15 September, with 13,000 prisoners and seventy cannon, while Lee held back McClellan at South Mountain and along the Antietam. By a severe night march, Jackson reached Sharpsburg on 16 September, and the next day commanded the left wing of the Confederate army, against which McClellan hurled in succession Hooker's, Mansfield's, and Sumner's corps. With thinned lines, Jackson maintained himself throughout the day near the Dunker church, while one of his divisions--A. P. Hill's, which had been left at Harper's Ferry--reached the field late in the day and defeated Burnside's corps, which was making rapid progress against the Confederate right flank. At Fredericksburg, 13 December, 1862, Jackson, who meantime had been promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general, commanded the right wing of the Confederate army, which repelled the attack of Franklin's division. When, in the spring of 1863, Hooker's movement upon Chancellorsville was fully developed, Lee ordered Jackson's corps to move up to meet him. On the morning of 1 May, Jackson met Hooker emerging from the wilderness that surrounds Chancellorsville, and at once assumed the aggressive so fiercely that Hooker withdrew into the wilderness and established lines of defence. As these offered no favorable opportunity for attack, Lee ordered Jackson to make a flank movement around the right of the National army. At sunrise, 2 May, Jackson was on the march, and all day he pursued his way through the wilderness. When his movement was discovered, and General Daniel E. Sickles attacked some of his trains, Jackson sent back a brigade to cover his rear and continued his march. Late in the evening he had reached the old turnpike, upon the flank and rear of General O. O. Howard's corps, which held the right of Hooker's army. Quickly forming his command into three lines of battle, Jackson attacked furiously. He routed Howard's corps in half an hour, and pressed the troops sent to its assistance back to the vicinity of Chancellorsville, when his own forces were checked by a powerful artillery fire from batteries hastily brought into line. (See PLEASONTON, ALFRED.) Between eight and nine o'clock Jackson with a small party rode forward beyond his own lines to reconnoitre. As he turned to ride back, his party was mistaken for National cavalry, and a volley was poured into it by Lane's brigade. Several of the party were killed, and Jackson received three wounds, two in the left arm and one through the right hand. When he had been assisted from his horse and the flow of blood stanched, it was some minutes before he could be conveyed within his own lines, so fierce was the artillery fire that swept the field. This fire struck down one of the litter-bearers, and the general was badly injured by the fall. His left arm was amputated, and for some days he seemed to be doing well; but on 7 May he was attacked by pneumonia, which left him too exhausted to rally. His remains were taken to Richmond, whence, after a public funeral, they were removed to Lexington. Jackson was a tall, spare man, of polite but constrained address and few words. He was twice married, first to Miss Eleanor Junkin, and secondly to Miss Mary Ann Morrison. The latter, with one daughter, survives him. A bronze statue of General Jackson, paid for by English subscriptions, was unveiled in Richmond, Virginia, in 1875. His life has been written by Robert L. Dabney (New York, 1863) and by John Esten Cooke (1866).

Edited Appletons Encyclopedia, Copyright © 2001 VirtualologyTM

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